Why this ride
From Rus it runs 182 km to Rus; allow about 4 h 14 of riding. It goes by way of Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului, Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2, Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal and Spermezeu - Lazuri.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 and Spermezeu - Lazuri
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 182 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 14
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Glod - Toaca Glodului 1
Between Dej and Jibou the Someș river squeezes through a narrow, winding valley, with the railway, the road and the river taking turns to cross each other. On the hills above, near the village of Glod and the larger villages of Rus and Ileanda, the Romans kept a watch on the north-western edge of Dacia, and Toaca Glodului is one of their watchtower positions, among the components of UNESCO's Dacian frontier listing. Toaca is the name of the wooden board struck in Romanian monasteries to call the monks to prayer, and the hill may owe its name to its shape or to some long-forgotten story.
Read the complete Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 is where the day begins. Next is Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului.
2. Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
The name is a mouthful, and a good one: the Ridge of the Wolf's Clearing, on the hill of Muncel, above the Someș valley north-east of Dej. Somewhere along this wooded crest the Romans kept a lookout on the northern border of Dacia, watching the valleys for movement from the free tribes beyond. Watchtowers like this one were the eyes of the frontier, signalling to the forts below, and the site is part of the Dacian frontier inscribed by UNESCO in 2024. On the ground, expect very little: perhaps a low mound, a ditch or scattered stones under the trees. It is a place for imagination and a walk rather than a monument.
Read the complete Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului comes up about 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2.
3. Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2
Above the valley of the Someș Mare in Bistrița-Năsăud county, the hill called Dealul Podului carries the faint remains of a Roman watch post, one of a string of small installations that kept an eye on the northern edge of the province of Dacia. Like many points on this frontier, inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2024, it is less a monument than a viewpoint with a story, a place where soldiers once scanned the horizon for movement in the free lands to the north. Today the horizon holds forested ridges, orchards and villages strung along the river.
Read the complete Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 53 km into the recorded legs you reach Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2. Next is Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal.
4. Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal
A Roman cavalry regiment kept its horses near the village of Ilișua, in the hills of northern Transylvania, for most of the time the province of Dacia existed. The fort, which modern archaeologists link with the ancient name Arcobara, was a large stone camp on the northern frontier, and its remains have been excavated over the years. It is part of the frontier of Roman Dacia listed by UNESCO in 2024. Today the site is a field with low walls and grassy mounds, and the neighbouring villages of Uriu, Cristeștii Ciceului and Braniștea go about their business around it.
Read the complete Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal, about halfway. Next is Spermezeu - Lazuri.
5. Spermezeu - Lazuri
Spermezeu is a village in the hilly country of western Bistriţa-Năsăud county, in northern Transylvania, where low ridges covered with orchards, hayfields and beech woods roll between the Someş valley and the Ţibleş mountains. The site called Spermezeu - Lazuri belongs to the series of places along the northern edge of the Roman province of Dacia, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire listed in Romania in 2024. Here the Romans watched the border with watchtowers and small fortifications on hilltops, and though little remains above ground, the commanding views explain why these spots were chosen.
Read the complete Spermezeu - Lazuri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Spermezeu - Lazuri sits at 68 km, about halfway. Next is back through Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal.
6. back through Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal comes up about 112 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2.
7. back through Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 131 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2. Next is back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului.
8. back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului, late in the day. Next is Glod - Toaca Glodului 1.
9. Glod - Toaca Glodului 1
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 182 km.
Leg by leg
Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 to Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 → Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului to Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului → Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2 is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2 to Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal
Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2 → Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal to Spermezeu - Lazuri
Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal → Spermezeu - Lazuri is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Spermezeu - Lazuri to back through Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal
Spermezeu - Lazuri → back through Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal to back through Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2
back through Ilișua - Arcobara / Vicinal → back through Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2 is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2 to back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
back through Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 2 → back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului to Glod - Toaca Glodului 1
back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului → Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.